This invention relates to recreational vehicles such as motor homes and travel trailers, and is particularly concerned with new and unique installations for the tanks which are parts of the water use systems of such vehicles.
The typical recreational vehicle (RV) comprises a wheeled chassis on which a body is mounted. The body contains an interior space for use by occupants. RV's have come to enjoy increasing popularity over the years because of the many conveniences which they provide. Today many RV's are entirely self-contained which means that they have not only their own living accommodations but all related conveniences as well. One of the conveniences is a complete self-contained water use system including sanitary fixtures such as sinks, showers, baths, toilets and the like. Fresh water for the system is contained in one or more fresh water storage tanks; waste liquid is stored in one or more holding tanks. Typically there are separate waste holding tanks for what is commonly respectively referred to as "gray water" and "black water." Gray water is waste water from sinks and showers whereas black water is waste from toilets.
In self-contained RV's in the United States, it has heretofore been the practice to locate the fresh water storage tank inside the vehicle body where it is within the interior occupant space. Such tanks usually have generally rectangular shapes and are mounted on the body floor, for example, concealed beneath a bench or a cabinet.
Waste water tanks are typically exterior of the RV body, usually being suspended from the chassis below the body floor. Because of this, they often reduce the RV's road clearance in the area of the chassis where they are located. They must be sufficiently strong to withstand damage from external forces such as rocks and stones for example.
The waste tanks have inlets which are in communication with outlets of the respective sanitary fixtures which they serve. Each waste tank has an outlet controlled by a gate valve. These gate valves usually connect to a common outlet to which a hose is attached for dumping. When the valves are opened, the tanks' contents drain through the hose. Because dumping of waste onto open ground is usually prohibited, the tanks are dumped either into an intermediate container which is then carried to the disposal site, or else by moving the RV to the disposal site. The valves and the related conduits are also exterior of the RV and hence subject to potential damage from external forces.
In general, neither fresh water tanks nor waste holding tanks are intended for removal. Since typical waste holding tanks are disposed beneath the RV, they are removable only for service, and if at all, only by access to the undercarriage of the RV to separate the means of attachment, allowing them to be dropped down for removal. Tanks on the RV's interior, be they fresh water or waste water, first require removal of some interior part or parts of the body, such as a bench or cabinet, before they themselves can be removed.
Sometimes the toilet facility of an RV comprises simply a portable toilet situated in a particular location of the recreational vehicle. A typical portable toilet is a two-piece, fresh water flush type comprising a seat section which is supported on and separably attached to a holding tank section. Such a toilet is serviced usually by carrying it out of the RV either in its entirety, or else, depending upon the nature of particular service needed, i.e. either filling with fresh water or disposal of waste, by separating the two sections and carrying only the one needing service out of the RV. In smaller RV's, servicing through the inside occupant space of the RV may be considered by some to be undesirable, or even offensive, for example where the portable toilet is carried through the eating area of the RV.
The present invention relates to improvements in the self-contained water use systems, such as are commonly found in RV's, and important objectives of the invention are to promote user convenience, to eliminate the need to service the systems through the interior occupant space of the RV, and to package the system in a highly space efficient manner while nonetheless endowing the system with numerous user conveniences. While certain aspects of the invention bear a direct nexus to an RV, it is to be appreciated that certain aspects of the invention have potential usage in other than the specific context of an RV installation.
In the context of an RV installation, certain significant aspects of the invention relate to the waste disposal tanks which receive and collect waste from sanitary fixtures in the RV. Other aspects relate to fresh water storage chambers inside the RV.
For application of the invention in an RV waste holding tank, the preferred embodiment of the invention contemplates a stowage compartment within the RV body which is separated from the interior occupant space The stowage compartment is disposed adjacent the body sidewall and an access opening to the stowage compartment is provided in the sidewall. The access opening is closed by a door. When the door is opened, the holding tank can be moved bodily outwardly of the stowage compartment through the access opening and carried to a waste disposal site at which the accumulated contents are poured out of the holding tank. Afterwards the tank may be rinsed and provided with an initial fill of a small amount of water and possibly one or more chemicals commonly used with such holding tanks for various purposes such as odor control for example. The tank is then inserted through the access opening back into the stowage compartment, and the access door is closed.
Still in this context of an RV waste holding tank installation, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a means for automatically making a sealed connection of the holding tank to an outlet from a sanitary fixture inside the RV which is served by the holding tank when the tank is inserted into the stowage compartment and stowed. Specifically, this automatic connection is made in accompaniment of the act of inserting the holding tank into the stowage compartment so that there is no need to perform any additional manipulation or operation in order to make the sealed connection, other than the mere act of inserting the holding tank into the stowage compartment. While details of how this is accomplished will be explained in the ensuing description of the preferred embodiment, it may be briefly stated that the holding tank is supported on a base in the stowage compartment and the base serves to guide the holding tank motion into the stowage compartment. The base bears a predetermined relationship to the outlet from the sanitary fixture to which the holding tank is to be connected so that the holding tank opening which connects to the outlet will be brought into registry with the outlet when the tank is fully stowed. In addition, a guide on the holding tank at the holding tank opening and a mating flange on the outlet from the sanitary fixture serve to provide precise control of the registry insuring a sealed connection despite tolerance variations in the degree of precision of tank guidance provided by the base.
When the holding tank is intended to be a black water tank which collects waste from a toilet, the valve for controlling the passage of waste from the toilet bowl is provided on the holding tank to open and close the holding tank opening which is in registry with the toilet bowl outlet. Because the operator for the valve is located inside the occupant space adjacent the toilet bowl, an operative connection from the operator to the holding tank valve must be provided. This operative connection includes a disconnectable connection which connects and disconnects in accompaniment of the connection and disconnection of the holding tank opening to and from the toilet bowl outlet so that no further manipulation or operation is required for connection or disconnection. In other words the connection and disconnection are entirely automatic, occuring in accompaniment of the motion of the tank into and out of the stowage compartment. The preferred embodiment of this connection is such however that removal of the holding tank from the stowage compartment cannot occur unless the operator has been operated to a position which closes the holding tank valve. In this way the holding tank opening will be closed when the holding tank is removed from the stowage compartment. If the operator is moved from this position while the holding tank is out, a successful reconnection can still occur by providing lead which will automatically re-align the connection as the tank is reinserted. Convenience in removing, installing, and dumping the contents of the holding tank is promoted by providing multiple handles on the holding tank. One handle is at the one end of the holding tank's sidewall which confronts the access opening in the RV sidewall. A second handle is located in the top wall of the holding tank between the first handle and the valved opening into the holding tank which is centrally located on the holding tank's top wall.
In order to remove the holding tank from its fully stowed position, a spring-loaded catch must be released after the access door has been opened. This catch is located on the base which supports and guides the holding tank and is in an interference relationship with the lower edge of the end of the tank's sidewall which confronts the access opening in the RV's sidewall. In the interference position the catch serves to constrain the holding tank against withdrawal from the fully stowed position.
When the holding tank is to be withdrawn, the catch is depressed, and the first handle in the end of the tank sidewall is grasped to begin withdrawing the tank from the stowage compartment. The bottom wall of the tank rides over the depressed catch as withdrawal of the tank continues. The bottom wall of the tank is configured with a clearance which passes over the catch allowing the catch to return to its interference position. After a predetermined amount of withdrawal of the tank, a stop in the bottom wall of the tank at the end of the clearance will abut the catch. By having this occur before the tank has been fully withdrawn, the catch serves to prevent the tank from being accidentally pulled completely out of the stowage compartment and possibly dropped on the ground where damage might ensue.
The tank also has a third and fourth handle on the side of its valved opening opposite the side containing the first two handles. The third handle is in the top wall, and the fourth is in the far end sidewall. Once the motion of the tank has been arrested after it has been withdrawn this predetermined amount, the third handle can be grasped by the person's other hand. The tank can now be tipped downwardly at the near end and slightly upwardly at the far end to thereby clear the bottom wall from the catch and allow the tank to be removed entirely from the stowage compartment. This takes place after the tank's opening has moved a sufficient distance from the outlet of the sanitary fixture so that such tipping can occur without interference between the opening and outlet, or the flange and guide which are respectively attached to the outlet and the opening.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention the holding tank is generally symmetrical about a vertical plane which bisects the valved opening to the tank. One aspect of this symmetry is that the third handle which was just referred to is symmetrical to the second handle and the fourth handle is symmetrical to the first handle.
A pourspout is rotatably mounted in a hole at one corner of the top wall of the holding tank. The pourspout is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the top wall between a stowed position and a pouring position. In its stowed position, the pourspout overlies the top wall of the holding tank generally parallel with and immediately adjacent the top edge of the near end of the tank's sidewall which confronts the access opening in the RV's sidewall when the tank itself is in fully stowed position. In its pouring position, the pourspout projects outwardly beyond the sidewall, pointing away from the tank. When the tank has been removed from the stowage compartment and transported to a disposal site for dumping, the pourspout is operated to its pouring position and aimed into the disposal site. A closure cap on the end of the spout is removed before pouring.
In order to facilitate the flow of waste out of the tank through the pourspout, a manually operated vent valve is provided in the top wall of the holding tank at the far end, opposite the near end which contains the pourspout. This manually operated vent is disposed proximate the far end wall handle so that it can be operated by the person's thumb while that far end wall handle is being grasped by the fingers of the same hand, and the other hand grasps the top wall handle which is nearer the pourspout. By providing a separate vent valve, it is unnecessary to open the closed holding tank valve, and this serves to avoid any leakage which might occur through the holding tank opening if its valve had to be cracked open for venting.
The vent valve mounts in a fitting which is assembled into a hole in the top wall of the holding tank at the far end. This hole is arranged in the top wall in symmetry to the hole in which the pourspout is mounted. The manner in which the fitting attaches into its hole is like the manner in which the pourspout fits into its hole so that a pourspout can be fitted into either of the two holes and likewise a vent valve assembly can be fitted into either of the two holes.
This hole symmetry and the handle symmetry, in relation to the central location of the valved opening into the holding tank enables a common tank to be used for right hand and left hand system installations. This is advantageous because it means that separate tanks do not have to be tooled to accommodate these two types of installations and this reduces at least in half tooling cost which would otherwise possibly be required to accommodate both types of installations. It also is a convenience if a replacement tank or other replacement parts for the tank are ever needed. The possibility also exists for certain installations that a common base may be used, and in fact in the disclosed embodiment the same base will serve both right hand and left hand installations, and for such purpose it comprises releasable catches at both ends.
In the case of a self-contained toilet system, the toilet may be equipped with either a manual or an electrically operated pump for introducing flush water into the toilet bowl. In the electric pump version, the operator for opening and closing the holding tank valve is configured in a manner not only for conveniently operating the holding tank valve but also for operating the electric pump. In this regard the operator is in the form of a knob having a central axis about which the knob turns to open and close the holding tank valve and along which the knob moves axially to control operation of the electric pump.
The disclosed embodiment of toilet system, comprises a bench, or seat section, which is intended to be built into the RV in a permanent manner. The toilet bowl is located centrally in the bench and the bench has a fresh water storage chamber surrounding the bowl. The operator for opening and closing the holding tank valve is located on the top wall of the bench adjacent the bowl so as to be accessible for the operation by a standing or seated user. On the opposite side of the bench, the top wall contains a large hole. When the toilet is of the electrically operated pump type, the pump mechanism is installed within the interior of the chamber by passing it through this hole. The hole is then closed by a closure in the form of a receptacle which extends into the bench. This receptacle is of a circular cylindrical configuration and a size which allows a fresh roll of toilet paper to be stored in it. The receptacle is closed by a removable cover.
In the manually operated pump version, the pump, which is preferably a bellows type of the kind used by the assignee of this invention in its line of portable toilets, is mounted on a fitting which in turn is assembled in closure of this large hole.
Because the fresh water storage chamber of the bench must be periodically filled with a supply of fresh water, a further aspect of the invention relates to the filling of this chamber from the outside of the RV. In the disclosed embodiment this is accomplished through the same access opening in the RV's sidewall through which the holding tank is removed and installed. A fill is disposed behind the closed access door, but when that door is open, the fill can be swung outward for filling.
The fill is disposed at a vertical elevation correlated with the fill level within the water storage chamber. A conduit from the fill to the chamber is routed along a path, portions of which are below the full fill level of the chamber, and in fact the conduit connects to the chamber at a location below the full fill level. Hence the tank fills by the principle of water seeking its own level, and therefore as water is introduced into the fill the level of water at the fill will rise in accordance with the actual fill level within the chamber. The fill is provided with a sight gauge so that the person filling the chamber can see when the tank is full by observing the sight gauge.
The water storage chamber has a space-efficient configuration which would result in the formation of an air pocket during filling restricting the extent to which the chamber can be filled, but for another of the aspects of the invention. This aspect provides a vent for the chamber headspace to the interior of the toilet bowl. While the location and size of the vent are such that it will not pass water sloshing about in the chamber, any such activity which results in small amounts of water passing through the vent result in the water collecting in the toilet bowl.
Likewise it may be necessary at times to drain the fresh water chamber and this is done through a drain line which extends from a low point of the chamber through the stowage compartment to the RV's sidewall access opening. When the door to the sidewall access opening is open and the chamber is to be drained, the length of this drain conduit allows it to be extended to outside of the RV. A closure in the end of the drain conduit is removed allowing the contents of the tank to drain to outside the vehicle.
A further aspect of the fresh water storage chamber filling and draining is that the same parts can be used for both right hand and left hand installations.
Thus in an RV installation the invention provides complete servicability from the RV's exterior. Chemicals are to be added to the holding tank from the exterior, and a convenient stowage place for the chemicals is provided within the stowage compartment by one or more pan formations in a part of the base which underlies the holding tank.
There are certain features in the base which are also advantageous. The disclosed embodiment of base comprises a load bearing frameword on the RV's floor which provides the principal load support for both the bench and the holding tank. A molded plastic base member comprises a track structure which supports and guides the holding tank into and out of the stowage compartment with the track structure in turn being supported by the load bearing framework. The base member comprises an integral formation of the aforementioned pan or pans at a level below the holding tank. Not only can this pan formation serve to store containers of chemicals, but it can collect liquid which otherwise might fall onto and run along the RV floor. In the event that the toilet were used while the holding tank was removed, such pan or pans structure form a sump in which the waste material may collect, thereby preventing the waste material from spreading onto the vehicle floor.
The base also has a cooperative association with the RV floor in forming a service conduit passage for various service conduits running along the RV's floor, for example a heat duct which is required to pass through the location of the sanitary fixture.
The preferred embodiment comprises a level indicator on the holding tank to indicate the extent to which the holding tank is filled with waste. This level indicator is viewable through a window in the bench when the holding tank is in stowed position.
If there is a lack of attention to the level indicator such that the tank becomes overfilled, the level of waste will be above that of the holding tank valve blade. The pourspout bears a predetermined relationship to the holding tank valve blade which is especially useful in these situations where the tank is filled beyond its capacity.
The pourspout defines a weir level which is below that of the holding tank valve blade. If the tank is filled beyond its capacity the waste level will rise above the level of the valve blade. The existence of this situation may be perceived from the inside of the RV by viewing of the bowl; in other words the bowl will not drain into the holding tank because the holding tank is full. If an attempt is made now to remove the stowage tank, there will be waste material above the level of the closed blade which will be released when the tank is removed. Such a situation can be alleviated by rotating the pourspout from its stowed position to pouring position pointing through the access opening in the RV sidewall so that the outlet end of the pourspout is outside the RV. If the pourspout is now uncapped, the weir level defined by the pourspout will cause waste which is above the weir level to flow out through the pourspout and onto the ground, or into a container placed at the pourspout outlet. Hence the excess waste is relieved so that when the stowage tank is then removed there is no substantial waste above the level of the closed valve blade, and the cap can be placed back onto the pourspout outlet. The tank is removed in the manner previously described. In the event that there is any residual waste in the bowl outlet after the tank has been removed, it will drip into the base and any significant amounts will collect in the pans. This collected drippage can then be cleaned up.
In order to provide the capability of a separable holding tank and a fixed bench installation wherein a valve on the holding tank must be controlled from the bench, further aspects of the invention relate to the valve mechanism itself and the manner in which the valve mechanism is operably coupled to the actuator, as alluded to earlier in the mention of the disconnectable connection in the coupling mechanism from the operator to the valve.
The foregoing features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, in its various aspects, along with additional ones, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.